Jim Dobson - Indie PR Hengameh Panahi Celluloid Dreams

International Sales Contact
Satellite Films presents
in association with
Screen Australia, Screen NSW, Screen West and ABC TV
Hengameh Panahi
Celluloid Dreams
2 Rue Turgot 75009,
Paris, FRANCE
T +33 1 49 70 03 7
E [email protected]
Official Selection
Palm Springs International
Film Festival
2013
Media Contact
Jim Dobson - Indie PR
T 818-753-0700 M 323-896-6006
E [email protected]
Where life is fragile and
people struggle to survive,
one small Aboriginal boy
shows us how courage
can conquer even the
greatest odds.
Abandoned by his mother, 10-year-old Pete (Cameron
Wallaby), lives with his elderly grandfather, Jagamarra
(David Gulpilil), in a deserted outdoor cinema of outback
town Wyndham.
When his Grandfather’s home is threatened with
demolition, Pete sees his world in jeopardy and with his
best friend, Kalmain (Joseph Pedley), sets off for the
city.
Together the boys travel through epic Kimberley country
and when they get lost in the bush, Pete and Kalmain find
true friendship.
Starving and thirsty, Pete must remember some of the
traditional bush skills his grandfather has taught him to
survive.
About the Production
Culturally specific - yet a universal story - and set in the wild and
unspoilt ‘Kimberley’ of North Western Australia, Satellite Boy is a
special film from a special place.
Writer/director Catriona McKenzie developed the screenplay,
supported by the Aurora Screenplay Development Program with
producer and former Commissioning Editor of Documentaries at
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC TV), David Jowsey.
Steeped in Aboriginal law and culture, the Kimberley was the
perfect setting for Satellite Boy - to highlight the immense value
and beauty of Australia’s ancient Indigenous heritage, whilst
showcasing the stunning and spiritual country around Wyndham
and the Bungle Bungles.
The picture is the first feature to be given permission to film in
the world heritage listed area and for producer David Jowsey,
consulting with the traditional owners of the Bungle Bungles was
a long but ultimately rewarding and important process. Realising
that the value of traditional Aboriginal culture was innate to the
story, the film garnered support from the owners.
Shooting in remote Aboriginal communities, it was of utmost
importance to be culturally correct. Out of respect for the
communities the production was deemed a ‘dry-shoot’ for the
duration, and in order to minimise impact on their surroundings,
the crew lived in tents. Despite being very ‘lo-fi’ there was never a
complaint - a testament to both the calibre of people who worked on
the film, and the support the filmmakers had from the community.
“It was rewarding at the end of the filming to be stopped in the
street by strangers who thanked me for showing respect to the
traditional owners, and the community” said McKenzie.
The desert, however, was not always the easiest of locations to
shoot in. Members of the crew regale stories of driving over 200km
in search of a pack of screws to assemble the abandoned cinema
in which Jagamarra (David Gulpilil) lives. With motor vehicles not
allowed within 2 kilometres of the Bungle Bungles, the team had
to carry all the equipment in on canvas stretchers, with the camera
department alone having six stretchers and twelve people to carry
all the camera pieces, steadicam, sound equipment and water.
Shot on the ARRI Alexa by award-winning director of photography
Geoffrey Simpson ASC – director Catriona McKenzie wanted
his classic formal eye over what would be a shoot with mostly
first time actors. Internationally renowned for his work on films
such as Sleeping Beauty, Under the Tuscan Sun and Romulus
My Father, Simpson captured not only the unspoilt beauty of the
land but the emotion and life within it – which is so important to
Aboriginal culture and so important to the story of Satellite Boy.
Sam Hobbs (September and as Art Director: The Bet, Beneath Hill
60) production designed the film, and his ingenuity and tenacity
saved the day on many occasions, having to build some of the
film’s major sets, including the outdoor cinema and satellite dish,
on a literal shoe string.
“Crewing up for a film is like putting a great dinner party together
– you want to be with great talent but have a good time too” says
McKenzie.
AFI Award-winner David Gulpilil returns from his traditional
Aboriginal lifestyle in North Eastern Arnhem Land with an intuitive
performance. Growing up in the tribal lifestyle environment of
Marwuyu in an area north east of the world famous Kakadu
National Park, David learned the traditional ways of a warrior in
the Mandalpingu Tribe of North East Arnhem Land where his
ancestors lived for thousands of years. David’s unique upbringing
and cultural heritage is central to each of his roles from Walkabout
and Crocodile Dundee, to Philip Noyce’s Rabbit Proof Fence and
his AFI Award-winning role in The Tracker, and now to his role as
Jagamara in Satellite Boy.
Just like his character Jagamara, David’s wisdom and guidance
was instrumental to the outstanding performances given by the
two lead boys. Both first time actors, they were cast from an
Australia wide search, with director Catriona McKenzie and
casting director Jub Clerc, spending months driving from remote
community to remote community looking for the right boys to play
the lead roles of Pete and Kalmain. From Balgo to Broome, Fitzroy
Crossing and Halls Creek, to Kununurra and Wyndham they drove
across the vast country “camped with our swags by the side of
the road at night with a fire and sparks sailing up to the Milky
Way, it was easy to feel the film that was about to be made” says
McKenzie.
The lead role of Pete is played by 10 year old Cameron Wallaby
from the remote Kimberley Aboriginal community of Yiyili and his
best buddy Kalmain is played by Joseph Pedley. Joseph shares a
special connection with the Satellite Boy story having grown up in
the small Kimberley town of Wyndham, featured in the film.
Filmed entirely on location in the Kimberley region of North Western
Australia. Satellite Boy was made in consultation with Ballangarra
Aboriginal Corporation and the Yawoorroong Miriuwung Gajerrong
Yirrgeb Noong Dawang Aboriginal Corporation.
Starring Australian living legend David Gulpilil (Walkabout, The
Tracker, The Man from Snowy River, Rabbit Proof Fence, Crocodile
Dundee) and newcomers Cameron Wallaby and Joseph Pedley,
the film assembles some of Australia’s finest filmmakers. Written
and directed by Catriona McKenzie (Redfern Now, Dance Academy,
Satisfaction, The Circuit, RAN), produced by David Jowsey (Mad
Bastards, Toomelah) and Julie Ryan (Red Dog, The Old Man Who
Read Love Stories) and executive produced by Colin McCumstie
and Troy Lum, the film exhibits beautiful work from director of
photography Geoffrey Simpson ACS (Sleeping Beauty, Under the
Tuscan Sun, Romulus my Father), production designer Sam Hobbs
(September) AFI Award-winning editor Henry Dangar ASE (The
Crossing, Bangkok Hilton, Kiss or Kill) and composer David Bridie
(In a Savage Land, Proof, Bran Nue Dae, The Straits).
From the Director
“Under a vast night sky a little boy looks up. From the darkness
a lullaby is sung in language: ‘Twinkle twinkle little star, how I
wonder what you are’.
The eternal and universal question: Who am I? What is this all
about, this world and how do I make sense of it all?
I sat down in a boat in 2007 and wrote the first draft of Satellite Boy
after throwing previous concepts away – much to David Jowsey’s
chagrin - as he’d been waiting for me to finish the script. Instead I
threw everything away and started again!
I wanted a most simple story.
Satellite Boy is a sculpture, à la Brancusi, a bird in flight. It’s the
essence of a thing. It needs to be viewed with space around it - so
familiar, yet with enough surrounding space to allow it to take on
the highest stakes possible. It needs to be familiar, yet simple so
we can feel!
I’ve directed television and feel blessed to understand what it is to
direct, tell stories, to write. There are commonplace assumptions
that anger and violence are used to push a story forward. It can be
used to rev a story up. As a narrative, plot point device. I wanted to
try something different. What if violence wasn’t used to make the
story move? What if a different logic was running through the film?
I wanted to make a story about love and courage. Family - one’s
ancestral connection to country. And I wanted the narrative logic
to follow the theme of the film.
Pete, our little boy, is just beginning his journey in life. His
grandfather is a traditional man. His Mother has left for a different
life in the city. But what does Pete want? He is pulled between
two worlds - between the poles of his heart: his Mother or his
grandfather? Cultural way or a city life?
Jub Clerc and I drove thousands of kilometres across the Kimberley
looking for the two leads. We camped in our swags at the side of
the road, looking up at the stars. This process of pre-production
informed the film. I’d go to sleep re-writing scenes in my head. After
a countrywide search for the boys to play the two leads, we cast
Indigenous first time actors Cameron Wallaby as Pete and Joseph
Pedley as Kalmain. It was amazing to see their performances
develop each day on set. Together they had a tremendous energy,
which infused the tone of the whole production.
Directing David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s living legends, was an
extraordinary privilege. He works on an extremely intuitive level
and has a very quick understanding of what’s happening not only
with his own character, but all the characters in the scene.
One of the reasons I wanted to film in the Kimberley is that the
country is strong. It hums with stories. Satellite Boy is based on
the understanding that one’s connection to country is an everyday,
intimate relationship that refreshes you. It keeps you strong. This
is what the Kimberley ‘country’ offers us, and the film. You can feel
it. You can feel the throb of its energy in your body. And we all have
a connection to the stars and to country.
Family relationships hold you close but the message of this film
is that, in the end, it is the powerful pull we feel for country that
matters most. It transcends archetypal ideas like Mother and
Father – it’s closer to the idea of Heaven.
The Milky Way is heaven but even then it is just a reflection of what
lies below. In the end, the Milky Way and the country, they reflect
each other in perfect symmetry – Heaven and Earth.
And it’s also very simple: what can be achieved between the two
poles of love and courage.”
Catriona McKenzie, June 2012
David Gulpilil
is Jagamarra
Since being chosen for the lead role in British director Nicholas
Roeg’s 1969 feature film Walkabout (filmed on location in Northern
Australia), David has led a long and prominent career for which he
was recognised in 1987 with the Australia Medal for services to
the Arts.
Cast
Jagamarra ...... David Gulpilil
Pete ...... Cameron Wallaby
Kalmain ...... Joseph Pedley
Lynelle ...... Rohanna Angus
Dave ...... Dean Daley-Jones
PrinCIpal Crew
Writer/Director ...... Catriona McKenzie
Producers ...... David Jowsey, Julie Ryan, Catriona McKenzie
Executive Producers ...... Colin McCumstie, Troy Lum
Director of Photography ...... Geoffrey Simpson ACS
Production Designer ...... Sam Hobbs
Associate Producer/Casting Director ...... Jub Clerc
Casting Director ...... Faith Martin
Costume Designer ...... Maria Pattison
Hair and Makeup Designer ...... Carol Cameron
Editor ...... Henry Dangar ASE
Sound Designer ...... Liam Egan
Sound Supervisor ...... Phil Judd
Composer ...... David Bridie
Born in 1953 in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia,
David grew up in a tribal lifestyle environment called Marwuyu in
an area north east of the world famous Kakadu National Park. He
learned the traditional ways of a warrior in the Mandalpingu Tribe
of north east Arnhem Land where his ancestors lived for thousands
of years.
One of Australia’s most accomplished exponents of traditional
Aboriginal dance and the native wind instrument the Didgeridoo,
David has made many national and international tours performing
his choreographies with his troupe of dancers in countries such
as the United States, Great Britain and France. He and a group of
his native dancers also performed at the Australian Pavilion at the
World Expo 1985 in Osaka, Japan and in Tokyo.
Since Walkabout, David’s career as an actor has been extensive,
with feature film credits including Mad Dog Morgan directed by
Phillipe Mora and also starring Dennis Hopper, The Last Wave
directed by Peter Weir and also starring Richard Chamberlain, Henri
Safran’s Storm Boy, Philip Kaufman’s The Right Stuff, Crocodile
Dundee starring Paul Hogan, and for which he choreographed
the Aboriginal dance sequences, Arch Nicholson’s Dark Age, Wim
Wenders’ Until the End of the World, Philip Parsons’ Dead Heart,
Serenades produced by Sandra Levy, Philip Noyce’s Rabbit Proof
Fence, The Tracker directed by Rolf de Heer, The Proposition
directed by John Hillcoat, the Narrator in Ten Canoes directed by
Rolf de Heer and the role of King George Crocodile Dreaming in
Australia directed by Baz Luhrmann. He has acted in numerous
TV series in Australia including Kirby’s Company, Rush, Timeless
Land, Outsiders, Young Ramsey, Homicide, Skyways, Boney (series
for television with James Lawrensen), Naked Under the Capricorn,
The Man from Snowy River, Bird of Paradise and Beastmaster.
Further to his Australia Medal David’s awards include 2002
Tudawali Award, Deadly Award, IF Award and AFI Award for Best
Actor for The Tracker as well as the IF Living Legend Award for his
extensive body of work.
David divides his time between the traditional Aboriginal lifestyle
of North Eastern Arnhem Land and the pursuit of his career as an
actor and performer throughout the world.
Catriona McKenzie
Writer/Director
An experienced television drama director, Satellite Boy is Catriona
McKenzie’s first feature film.
Graduating with Honours from the Australian Film Television and
Radio School (AFTRS) in 2001, Catriona has an outstanding list of
credits including Emmy nominated Dance Academy, the TV Week
Logie and AFI Award winning My Place series 1 and 2 for ABC TV,
as well as Satisfaction for Showtime. Catriona was also the set up
director for the award-winning SBS series’ The Circuit and RAN, as
well as The Alice for Channel Nine and Fire Flies for ABC TV.
With critically acclaimed and award-winning short films including
Box, The Third Note, Road and Redfern Beach, Catriona also wrote
and directed the multi-award winning documentary Mr Patterns
for ABC TV and directed the half hour drama Grange for ABC TV.
In 2007 Catriona spent time in the US as a director’s attachment
on the television series Prison Break.
Having commenced her career at multi-award winning commercials
house Filmgraphics, Catriona has had her body of work showcased
at The Australian Centre of Moving Image at Federation Square
and has completed video installations for the National Australian
Museum in Canberra, as well as the 4a Gallery in Sydney.
Cameron Wallaby
is Pete
Making his acting debut, Satellite Boy is Cameron’s first film.
Born in Broome, Cameron has an innate connection to
the Gooniyandi people.
Currently living with his dad, Cameron has 5 brothers and 4 sisters.
His childhood was spent mostly in Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing
and now in Yiyili Community where he attends Yiyili School.
Joseph Pedley
is Kalmain
After encouragement from his mother, Joseph Pedley auditioned
for Satellite Boy. Having had only a small part in a Qantas
commercial, this is Joseph’s first real acting experience.
Currently in year 8, Joseph grew up in Wyndham, WA and holds a
scholarship at a leading independent boys school in Perth.
In 2006 her script for Satellite Boy was accepted into the coveted
Screen NSW Aurora Development Program (similar to France’s
Equinoxe), which has previously contributed to the development
of the scripts for the features Animal Kingdom, The Black Balloon,
Somersault and Little Fish.
Most recently Catriona was set up director for the anticipated ABC
TV series Redfern Now, which was developed in collaboration with
the award winning and internationally acclaimed creator Jimmy
McGovern (The Street, Cracker, The Lakes).
Julie Ryan
Producer
Based at the Adelaide Studios in Adelaide, Julie is currently in
post-production on her tenth feature film a comedy horror called
100 Bloody Acre. Later this year she is scheduled to work as coproducer on the Robyn Davidson story Tracks.
David Jowsey
Producer
David has been closely collaborating with director Catriona
McKenzie on the development of Satellite Boy since 2005. They
attended the Aurora workshop in 2006 working with mentors
such as Laura Jones, Lone Scherfig and Sue Murray (who is now
attached to the project as Marketing Advisor).
Until 2008, David was Commissioning Editor of Documentaries
at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC TV) in Sydney
and prior to this an Executive Producer at ABC TV including
heading up the Indigenous programs department. There were
many outstanding documentaries among the dozens that went
into production under his stewardship, including A Good Man,
The Life Series and Bastardy. In his 12 years at ABC TV, David
developed and oversaw production of many programs, including
live entertainment and special events, magazine series, music
programs, drama and a large slate of documentaries which have
won awards both in Australia and internationally. Before joining
the ABC, David was Executive Producer at CAAMA Productions in
Alice Springs. This was preceded by a two-year stint as Lecturer
in Producing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School
(AFTRS) in Sydney and four years at Television New Zealand in
Auckland.
In 2009 he formed BUNYA Productions with award winning
filmmaker Ivan Sen. The company is a boutique independent
feature film production company focused on digital production
and based in Sydney. BUNYA Productions first film was Ivan Sen’s
ultra low budget digital feature Dreamland, which was selected in
competition at the 2010 Pusan Film Festival in South Korea. David
is also Producer of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival selected
feature film Mad Bastards directed by Brendan Fletcher. The
same year David produced Toomelah which focuses on a ten year
old boy growing up in an isolated Aboriginal community with Sen
directing again. The film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival
2011 in Un Certain Regard. The pair are about to go into production
with their next film Mystery Road.
In 2010, Julie produced (with Nelson Woss) the feature film Red
Dog, based on Louis de Bernière’s novel of the same name, starring
Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama), Noah Taylor and Rachael
Taylor. It is now included in the top ten Australian films of all time.
In 2007 she formed production company Cyan Films with Kate
Croser. Their first feature film My Tehran for Sale was shot entirely
on location in Tehran in August 2008. Prior to setting Cyan, Julie
produced five feature films with Rolf de Heer including The Old
Man who Read Love Stories starring Richard Dreyfuss and Hugo
Weaving, The Tracker, Alexandra’s Project, Ten Canoes (Special
Jury Prize, Un Certain Regard, 2006 Cannes Film Festival) and a
black and white silent comedy Dr Plonk. Julie was also executive
producer on Anthony Maras’ award winning short film The Palace
and the Sundance-selected feature documentary Shut Up Little
Man! An Audio Misadventure.
Jub Clerc
Associate Producer/Casting Director
Associate Producer, Dramaturg and one of the Casting Directors of
Satellite Boy, Jub also played the minor role of the TV Journalist. In
2010 she was Casting Director/Drama Coach/Directors Attachment
on the indigenous film Mad Bastards also produced by David Jowsey.
In 1997 Jub graduated from WAAPA (Western Australian Academy
of Performing Arts) with a Diploma in Performing Arts. Since then
she has performed in numerous theatre productions and television
series including playing the role of Ramone in The Circuit directed by
Catriona McKenzie. Jub is transitioning from performer to filmmaker
synthesising her drama and organisational skills and has written
and directed a number of her own short films and documentaries.
This year she received development funding from Screen West as
the screenwriter of her new feature project Joona.
Geoffrey Simpson ASC
Director of Photography
One of Australia’s most successful cinematographers, Geoffrey has
had a prolific career both in Australia and internationally.
With recent films including The Surrogate, Sleeping Beauty and The
Dragon Pearl, he has also recently worked as a cinematographer on
the US television mini-series The Starter Wife with Debra Messing,
Judy Davis and Miranda Otto.
Geoffrey’s other works includes The Last Holiday for director Wayne
Wang and starring Gerard Depardieu, Under the Tuscan Sun starring
Diane Lane and Romulus My Father for director Richard Roxburgh,
starring Eric Bana.
Throughout his career Geoffrey has worked on prestigious projects
such as Little Women and The Last Days of Chez Nous for director
Gillian Armstrong, Peter Weir’s Green Card, Jon Avnet’s Fried Green
Tomatoes, Anthony Minghella’s Mr Wonderful, Scott Hick’s Shine,
John Seale’s ‘Til There was You and The Navigator directed by
Vincent Ward and produced by John Maynard.
A recipient of numerous accolades, Simpson has won Australian
Film Industry Awards for Oscar and Lucinda (1998), Shine (1996),
The Navigator (1988) and was nominated for The Last Days of Chez
Nous (1992). In 1985 Simpson won the Golden Tripod ACS Award
and Milli Award as Cinematographer of the Year for the feature
film Playing Beattie Bow and won an ACS Merit Award in the same
year for Scott Hicks’ Call Me Mr Brown. The Shiralee, an Australian
television mini-series, won him the Silver Tripod ACS Award in 1987,
and in 1988, he won the Golden Tripod ACS Award for Kennedy
Miller’s tele-feature Riddle of the Stinson.
Sam Hobbs
Production Designer
Perth-born Sam Hobbs is a production designer and art director, and
a graduate of the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (MA,
2001). Now based in Sydney, he has worked as production designer,
art director and costume designer on many feature and short films,
along with television series and tele-movies. His recent production
design credits for film include Wasted on the Young, Stone Bros,
September and Monkey Puzzle and for television the Nine Network’s
Rescue, ABC TV’s The Cut, and SBS TV’s The Circuit.
Henry Dangar ASE
Editor
Considered one of the best editors in the country, Henry’s career
began 35 years ago when he became an editing assistant at the
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Today he has edited 24
feature films including Winter Of Our Dreams, The Crossing, Spider
and Rose, Traveling North and Lucky Miles. His television dramas
include Blackjack, The Bangkok Hilton, Love My Way and Rake and
he has also cut a number of documentaries such as The Matilda,
Candidate and Raskols. He won the AFI Best Achievement in Editing
for Kiss or Kill directed by Bill Bennett, and has received nominations
for his work from the AFI, IF Awards, Film Critics Circle and the ASE.
In 1995, after rallying his peers to join him in setting up an editing
Guild, Henry became the Australian Screen Editors Guild’s first
President. He quickly set up mentorships to support emerging editors
and found ways to champion a better understanding of the role. In
2011 Henry was awarded a Lifetime Membership of the ASE for his
contribution to the screen industry..
Liam Egan
Sound Designer
Beginning his career in sound at community radio station 2XX in
Canberra, Liam has been working freelance in the Australian film
industry for just over 20 years. During this time he has been the Sound
Designer on over 20 feature films including Little Fish, Suburban
Mayhem, Babe 2 – Pig in the City, Dirty Deeds, The Wog Boy and
Idiot Box as well as award winning documentaries and short films.
Internationally he has been Sound Designer on US films including
Man-Thing and George of the Jungle 2. Over the last couple of years
Liam has completed work locally on Samson and Delilah, Beneath
Hill 60 and recently The Hunter.
He has been nominated for, and won, numerous awards from
organisations such as the Australian Film Institute, Inside Film,
Flickerfest, The Australian Screen Sound Guild and the US Motion
Picture Sound Editors (MPSE).
David Bridie
Composer
The quiet achiever of Australian music, seven time ARIA award
winning songwriter and composer David Bridie has enjoyed a
distinguished career as one of Australia’s most innovative musicians.
With his repertoire as a recording artist, soundtrack composer,
producer, lyricist, uniquely Australian songwriter and singer, as
well as a specialist in the music of Melanesia, Bridie has certainly
stamped his mark.
A founding member and songwriter of critically acclaimed musical
groups Not Drowning Waving and My Friend The Chocolate Cake
whose success both in Australia and across the world is well
documented, Bridie has also released a number of albums under his
own moniker with the 2002 Act of Free Choice being released in the
UK, Canada and America as well as Australia.
It is as a songwriter that Bridie has forged his reputation as one
of Australia’s best with tracks such as This Year Is Better Than
Last Year (DB), The Kiap Song (NDW), I’ve Got A Plan (MFTCC),
The Koran, The Ghan and A Yarn (DB) and The Last Great Magician
(MFTCC), all confirming his individual style in painting a mural of
the modern world, its geography, its political mores and its dwellers
identities.
From mid-2000 Bridie released three solo albums: Act of Free
Choice, Hotel Radio and Succumb. These albums see Bridie make a
return to the experimental music that his earlier group Not Drowning
Waving had been noted for, with Bridie’s voice and electric piano
woven around a universe of found sounds, anything from Papua
New Guinea conch shells to Morse code intercepted on short wave
radio, with bass and drums added over the top of lyrics that are
purely and unmistakably Bridie, a ruthlessly honest musical mirror
to Australia’s complex national character and wry personal insights
to the state of being human.
Over the years Bridie has balanced his career as a live musician with
the composition of soundtrack music, with credits for over 16 Feature
films including Proof, Bran Nue Dae, The Man Who Sued God and
Gone several of which received International release. His score for
In a Savage Land landed Bridie the award for Best Original Score at
the AFI Awards, Best Original Soundtrack by the Film Critics Circle
of Australia, and Best Soundtrack Album at the 2000 ARIA Awards.
Credits for his 29 television/short films/documentaries’ soundtracks
include Remote Area Nurse for which he won an AFI Award, Winner
Best Independent Release ARIA Award; The Whitlam Documentary
MABO, Life of an island Man, The Circuit and most recently, the
feature documentary film Strange Birds in Paradise and 10 part
ABC TV drama series The Straits.
David has always explored his particular passion for Melanesian life,
music and history. Now regarded as the world’s foremost producer
of Melanesian music artists, David has scored, curated and produced
many films, concerts and albums in Australia, PNG and The US and
has been instrumental in launching the musical careers of many of
these artists. Other music producing credits include Archie Roach’s
Jamu Dreaming, Christine Anu’s Stylin Up’ and West Papuan string
band Black Paradise’s Spirit Of Mambesak CDs and Richard Mogu
(PNG). His most recent work with Pitjantjatjara man Frank Yamma
and the Countryman CD has seen Yamma’s career take off with UK
and Europe tours and festival bookings across Australia and the
world including the London Olympic Festival and Womad UK in 2012.